Interactive projection effect and entertainment system

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments herein include systems, methods, and software for an entertainment projection device. In addition to projecting entertainment content, the projection device includes a camera for capturing user motion and a graphical display that is arranged to be altered in response to detection of user motion as captured by the camera. Two or more systems may also be used to display a continuous image, such as in projecting streaming video. The entertainment projection device may be a standalone device, or may be in a self-contained light fixture replacement that provides ambient room light or an interactive RGB projection.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is related to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/817,973, filed on May 1, 2013, is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 14/267,410, filed on May 1, 2014, claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/869,272, filed on Aug. 23, 2013, and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/968,068, filed on Mar. 20, 2014, each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments herein relate to an interactive projection effect and video entertainment system. Some embodiments may be free standing or mounted on a floor, wall, or ceiling. One such embodiment may be integrated within a self-contained, ceiling or wall-mounted light fixture. The projection system includes a camera for capturing user motion and a graphical display output that is altered in response to detection of user motion as captured by the camera. Two or more systems may be used to divide the graphical display output into two or more independent graphical display outputs, where the two or more divisions may be displayed adjacent to each other to increase the size of the resulting graphical display output.

BACKGROUND

Interactive display surfaces are used in various forms for entertainment, promotion, education, and the like. A typical interactive display surface generally comprises a graphical display such as a video screen to display a graphical image or a surface onto which the graphical image may be projected for display to users within an adjacent environment, together with a system for detecting motion of the users within the adjacent environment. The motion detecting system typically relies on a suitable camera directed towards the adjacent environment and a motion-detecting algorithm. The motion-detecting algorithm analyzes the data captured by the camera to determine what type of motion has occurred. The graphical image can then be varied according to various characteristics of the detected motion. For example, an object displayed in the graphical image may be displaced or varied in size, color, or configuration, etc. according to the location or amount of motion detected. The configuration of a graphical display, motion detecting system, and computing device running the motion-detecting algorithm can be quite complex, requiring custom configuration and installation by skilled individuals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the general hardware components in an interactive projection effect and entertainment system, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of specific hardware components 200 of an interactive projection effect and entertainment system, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of components involved in installation of an interactive projection effect and entertainment system, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a representation of positioning and use of an interactive projection effect and entertainment system, according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are side and front views of a standalone interactive projection effect and entertainment system, according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 6A-6D are various views of a standalone interactive entertainment system 600, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a logical architecture diagram of a computing environment, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block flow diagram of a method of providing an interactive display, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block flow diagram of a method of dividing and blending a graphical image into multiple projected graphical images, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a computing device, according to an example embodiment.

In the drawings, like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some embodiments herein include systems, methods, and software for a self-contained light fixture that provides ambient room light or an interactive RGB projection. The fixture of such embodiments replaces one or more existing light fixtures on the wall, table, or ceiling of a room. This allows consumers to project an interactive projection surface on the wall or floor of any room from an overhead ceiling or wall mounted fixture by simply switching the unit from regular ambient light to interactive projection mode. Some other embodiments are not a light fixture and instead are interactive RGB projection systems. The RGB projection systems of such embodiments may be ceiling or wall mounted, placed or mounted on a horizontal surface such as a floor or table, or otherwise be placed in an environment to project on a horizontal surface, a vertical surface, both horizontal and vertical surfaces simultaneously or alternatively.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of general hardware components 100 of an interactive projection effect and entertainment system, according to an embodiment. The hardware components 100 may receive power from conventional ceiling light fixture electrical power lines, and may use a power inverter 105. In alternate embodiments, the hardware components 100 may include an Edison-style connector to connect with and receive power from an existing overhead lighting installation, an electrical outlet, a battery power source, both a batter power source and an electrical outlet, and the like. The hardware components 100 include a microcomputer processor 110, a projector 120, an image-capturing device 130, and a light source 140.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of specific hardware components 200 of an interactive projection effect and entertainment system, according to an embodiment. The hardware components 100 may receive power from conventional ceiling light fixture electrical power lines, and may use a power inverter 105. In alternate embodiments, the hardware components 100 may include an Edison-style connector to connect with and receive power from an existing overhead lighting installation, an electrical outlet, a battery power source, both a batter power source and an electrical outlet, and the like. The hardware components 100 include a microcomputer processor 110, a projector 120, an IR image-capturing device 130 a, an RGB image-capturing 130 b device, and a light source 140.

One or more peripheral or integrated wireless communication devices may be present in some embodiments and be used in conjunction with the hardware components 100. For example, a peripheral Wi-Fi® or Bluetooth® adapter may be connected to the hardware components 100 through an external Universal Serial Bus (USB) port or other communication port. The microcomputer processor 110 may include an integrated wireless communication adapter 115, or a separate wireless communication adapter 115 may be attached directly to the microcomputer processor 110 or to a bus to which the microprocessor is also attached. The wireless communication devices may be used to connect the microcomputer processor 110 to the Internet or other network, or the wireless communication devices may be used as an input device to cause various actions to be executed by the microcomputer processor 110.

The image-capturing device 130 may be in the form of a camera arranged to capture video images of the users in the environment adjacent the output display area to which the graphical display image is displayed. In further instances, the image-capturing device 130 may be arranged to capture video of any moving objects within a target area. In either instance, the video captured comprises a sequence of frames in which each frame is comprised of a two dimensional array of pixels.

The image-capturing device 130 a may include a lens that may also have an integrated or attached infrared (IR) filter. The image-capturing device 130 a may include an IR light source, an IR light source may be included within the light source 140, or an IR light source may be connected as a peripheral device. The IR light source may project IR light into the target area or surrounding environment adjacent the output display area, for example in a grid pattern. The lens may capture the infrared light reflected back from objects in the target area such that interactive software (e.g., software such as provided by Po-Motion Interactive Software) can use the microcomputer processor 110 to analyze the captured array and define a shape of objects, in either a two-dimensional (2-D) or three-dimensional (3-D) manner, within the target environment by studying how the grid pattern of projected IR light is altered in its reflective state as captured by the lens. The light source may produce ambient or directional IR light of a specific wavelength. The light may be captured by a lens, and may be filtered to allow only that wavelength of IR light to be detected by the camera. The lens may be arranged to capture video frames at a predetermined depth of field. The video frames may be comprised of pixels, and the predetermined depth of field may enable the microcomputer processor 110 to interpret each pixel as a distance on a projected interactive display. For example, the following configuration would result in one pixel per inch: the depth of field is selected so that only objects approximately ten feet away are in focus, the interactive display projects a ten foot square projection from a height of ten feet, and the captured image is one hundred and twenty pixels square.

The image-capturing device 130 a may include one or more components that enable sensing of 3-D depth, motion, or presence of an object or person. Sensing 3-D depth, motion, or presence may be enabled by augmenting 2-D sensing with a depth sensor to capture motion perpendicular to the image-capturing device 130, such as with sonic or laser range detection. Sensing 3-D depth or motion may also be enabled using stereoscopic vision, such as by using two or more cameras within the image-capturing device 130. Sensing 3-D depth or motion may also be enabled using motion parallax, such as by moving a single camera to capture images from two different angles. Sensing 3-D depth or presence may allow the microcomputer processor 110 to determine when objects are covering a room's floor, such as might be used as a “messy meter” that prevents interactive device operation until the room floor has been cleaned. 3-D depth may also be used to track a child's height or other person's height to determine growth, or may be used to track level of movement to collect health and activity statistics. Sensing 3-D depth, motion, or presence may be used to enable accurate projection of images onto stationary or mobile surfaces, people, toys, or other objects, where the projection of images may be used, for example, to turn a white box into a spaceship, to project colors on people, or to project other interactive and transformative effects. Such modes of depth and motion detection, both 3-D and 2-D, may be used in some embodiments for automated calibration of the hardware components 100 and software that executes thereon.

The light source 140 may include an integrated infrared (IR) light source and an integrated ambient light source, or an integrated infrared (IR) light source or integrated ambient light source may be connected as a peripheral device. The ambient light source may include an LED light source, an incandescent light source, or another ambient light source. The light source 140 may include a dimmer feature for the integrated ambient light source, where the dimmer feature may accept a lower voltage or current and provide a reduced amount of ambient light. The IR light source may include an LED light source or a laser IR light source.

The microcomputer processor 110 may be a standalone processor, or may be a personal computer or laptop having a processor therein to be arranged to execute various algorithms stored on memory 112 in the form of software. Among the algorithms is a motion-detecting algorithm that receives the motion information from the image-capturing device 130 and compares adjacent frames of video in the sequence according to prescribed criteria. The frame comparison may determine where motion occurs within each frame, and may determine how much motion is occurring at any given time. The motion-detecting algorithm may be configured to detect motion for each frame relative to a previous frame in real time as the video is captured. In other embodiments, the motion detection algorithm may be configured to detect motion between every two frames, three frames, or other number of frames as may be desired or set according to a desired resolution of motion detection, as can be satisfactorily processed by available computing resources, and the like. In other embodiments, rather than throttling the motion detection algorithm to scale processing to available computing resources, a frame capture rate of the image capture device may be modified.

The microcomputer processor 110 may include or execute software of an image-generating algorithm that produces an interactive image to be displayed or projected on the output display area. More particularly, the image-generating algorithm may alter a graphical image being displayed in response to the motion detected near the output display area. The graphical image may depict a two-dimensional representation of a virtual environment, such as a video game environment. The microcomputer processor 110 may generate the interactive projection component using interactive software installed on the microcomputer processor 110. The interactive software may receive input camera frames from the image-capturing device 130 and process the input camera frames to generate motion data. Conventional image processing (e.g., computer vision) can be processor-intensive and prone to errors. To improve reliability and processor efficiency, the interactive software may use IR image processing. When the hardware components 100 are in interactive mode, the light source 140 may use the integrated IR light source to wash the projection area with IR light. The IR light is invisible to the naked eye, but the IR light allows the image-capturing device 130 a with integrated IR filter, or otherwise with IR sensing capability, to capture motion from users and other physical objects while ignoring other motion activity in the projection area. To improve the ability of the image-capturing device to identify user motion, user motion may be excluded from the graphical image being projected on the output display area. For example, if hand motion is detected near a virtual object, the projected graphical image may be updated to display movement of the virtual object without showing a picture, icon, or other representation of the detected hand motion. IR motion data from the image-capturing device 130 a may be used by the microcomputer processor 110 to track user position and motion. The motion data may be generated using a shape-detection algorithm. The shape-detection algorithm, in some embodiments, operates on changes from processed frame to processed frame using reflected IR light, and filters out any changes determined to be too small to represent an intentional motion by the user. The shape-detection algorithm provides information about the detected shapes to the interactive software. The interactive software interprets shape changes as motion, where the detected motion is processed to determine if the motion has triggered a “motion event.”

In some embodiments, the microcomputer processor 110 may accept wireless signals from a remote control. The remote control may communicate via infrared (IR), Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi®, or other communication methods. The remote control may be a dedicated remote control, similar to a TV remote, or the remote control may be a computing device running a remote control application, such as a smartphone or tablet device having a remote control app that executes thereon. Using the remote control, a user may turn the interactive projection effect and entertainment system of the hardware components 100 on or off, and may select between an interactive projection and a conventional light. The remote control may also select among available games, streaming internet channels, interactive effects, input sources (i.e., AV, HDMI, TV, digital TV, cable, digital cable, RGB, etc.) similar to switching through channels on a TV. As such, the hardware components 100 may also include one or more additional video inputs to enable connectivity with video sources, such as cable television, over-the-air television signals, set-top boxes, video playing devices, computers, and the like.

In some embodiments, the microcomputer processor 110 may execute entertainment content, such as one or more stored games, streaming media services (e.g., Netflix®, ChromeCast®), or interactive effects. This entertainment content may be installed on the memory 112 associated with the microcomputer processor 110, such as on a hard drive, removeably memory card (e.g., micro SD card, USB drive), random-access memory, other type of memory storage, or streamed from a video source input such as HDMI® 113. The microcomputer processor 110 may also access the entertainment content through an application store. The application store may offer entertainment content for free, for a time-limited rental, for purchase, or through other contractual arrangements. The application store may be executed by the microcomputer processor 110, or may be executed on a separate computing device. For example, new entertainment content may be downloaded and managed from a website using a user's phone or laptop, and may be transferred to the memory 112 via a wired connection or wirelessly via the Wi-Fi® adapter 115. In another embodiment, purchased entertainment content may be stored on the internet (e.g., the “cloud”), and can be transferred to the microcomputer processor 110 on an on-demand basis. Although referred to as entertainment content, the entertainment content may instead be educational, informative, instructional, exemplary, and other forms of content.

The microcomputer processor 110 may interact with a graphical user interface displayed on a controller display area. The controller display area may be provided in the form of an auxiliary display separate from the primary display locating the output display area thereon. For example, the graphical user interface may be provided on the remote control, on a smartphone, on a computer, or on another device. The graphical user interface permits interaction with an operator of the system through a user input, where the user input is typically in the form of input controls on a computing device (i.e., keyboard, mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, microphone, video capture device, etc.). The graphical user interface allows the various criteria of the motion-detecting algorithm to be visually represented on the graphical user interface display area such that the user can readily adjust the criteria through the user input. The graphical user interface may also allow the user to adjust the sensitivity of the interactive video system to motion for calibrating the system to the surrounding environment. However, in other embodiments, the user interface may be presented by the hardware components as a projection from the projector 120 with which a user may interact and the user interactions captured by the image-capturing device 130 and motion detecting algorithm. The user interface may include selectable icons and menu items, a projected keyboard, and the like.

The microcomputer processor 110 may include a calibration function to calibrate the interactive projection with the image-capturing device 130. Calibration may correct or compensate for distortion or discontinuity caused by projecting entertainment content onto a surface that is not perpendicular to the projector 120 or image-capturing device 130 a or 130 b. Once calibrated, the microcomputer processor 110 may correctly process motion on the screen by identifying any area where movement is taking place and converting it to a “touch event,” similar to how screen interactivity is achieved on a touchscreen. Calibration may be accomplished by aligning pattern or motion data from the image-capturing device 130 one or more objects or assets in the projection screen area. Calibration may be performed automatically by using a projected and captured pattern, or may be performed manually through a series of prompted user input events. For example, manual calibration may be accomplished by causing the projector 120 to project one or more calibration points, waiting for the user to touch each calibration point, and using the image-capturing device 130 to record the user motion.

Once calibrated, the microcomputer processor 110 may cause the projector 120 to project an interactive environment. Various interactive environments may include educational environments for home or school. An application may include an interactive play mat for babies, where motion from the projection on the floor stimulates babies and encourages them to move and crawl. An application may include a physically engaging game for one or more children, encouraging children to jump, run, dance, move in order to trigger effects (e.g., make flowers bloom), or win a game (e.g., play soccer, Greedy Greedy Gators, and even interactive versions of well-known, branded games). An application may include a room decoration to help theme an environment (e.g., a front lobby installation). An application may include a resource for children with sensory, motor, or social difficulties, where the interactive responses from the floor may encourage children to explore different types of motion. Other applications may be marketing-oriented, such as an application that causes images of wall colors or pieces of furniture to be projected into an environment to allow a consumer a preview of how the wall color may look or how a piece of furniture may fit or look within the environment, and as may be modified based on color, upholstery, and other options of a piece of furniture. In some embodiments, the calibration functions described above and the 2-D and 3-D motion sensing algorithms may provide data to such a furniture previewing application to facilitate a properly scaled 2-D projection of a piece of furniture to be projected

Various interactive environments may include games for home or school. Motion events in gameplay can be used in various games. A motion event may include a user limb movement that may be interpreted as kicking a ball or hockey puck around to score goals against an opponent. A motion event may include jumping, where the jumping event causes an animation to occur or react in a different way. A motion event may include running, where the running may trigger lighting effects. A motion event may include waving, where the waving may be used to herd or corral animals.

The hardware components 100 may include a motorized mount. The motorized mount may be a moveable mirror configured to redirect the light from the projected interactive environment, or may be a mechanism that reorients the projector 120 or one or more of the other hardware components 100. The motorized mount may be used to select a display location. For example, the motorized mount may switch between a wall display of a movie and a floor display of an interactive game. The motorized mount may be used within a video conference to redirect the projector 120 or the image-capturing device 130. The motorized mount may be used to display and interact with the interactive environment using one or many physical objects, such as using a toy to interact with an animated character. The motorized mount may be used to generate a 3-D map of objects, such as by orienting the projector 120 and image-capturing device 130 at furniture, people, or other objects within a room. The motorized mount may also be used to reorient the projected interactive environment to the ceiling, such as for ambience, relaxation, comforting nightlight, or constellation simulations.

The hardware components 100 may also include one or both of one or more speakers and one or more microphones. The speakers may be used to project sound effects, music, web conference or video call audio, or an audio notification such as an alarm. When the user is using a multiplayer interactive environment, the speakers may project sounds from remote players. The microphones may be used to provide voice commands or voice recognition. The speakers and microphones may be used together to provide audio interaction, such as in videoconferencing or audibly interacting with an animated character.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of installation components 300 of an interactive projection effect and entertainment system, according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, the installation components 300 may be installed on the ceiling of a room, facing down. This installation may be achieved in the same way a standard ceiling light fixture is installed, and may allow a standard ceiling light fixture to be replaced with the installation components 300.

The installation components 300 may include a terminal block 310, a remote control receiver 320, and interactive display hardware components 100. As described above, the hardware components 100 may include a power inverter 105, a microcomputer processor 110, a projector 120, an image-capturing device 130, and a light source 140. The terminal block 310 may include a terminal to connect to the live power circuit conductor 312, a terminal to connect to neutral circuit conductor 314, and a terminal to connect to the earth (e.g., ground) circuit conductor 316. The live power terminal 312 and neutral terminal 314 are connected to the remote control receiver 320. Using a remote control, the user may cause the remote control receiver 320 to provide power either to the conventional light source 140 or to the microcomputer processor 110, projector 120, and image-capturing device 130. The remote control may also be used to cause the remote control receiver 320 to provide a reduced voltage or power to the conventional light source 140, thereby dimming the ambient light emitted from the conventional light source 140.

Installation components 300 may be configured to allow a standard ceiling light fixture to be replaced with the installation components 300, though additional installation options may be available. For example, the interactive system may be powered by one or a combination of a hardwired solution, a cord solution, a battery, and a backup battery. A hardwired solution may be configured as described above, or may be wired into an existing light fixture, for example using an Edison style connector. The hardwired solution may also be configured to connect to a home automation system. The home automation system may provide power and various home automation functions, such as closing window blinds when the projector is turned on. The cord solution may plug into a standard North American or other wall outlet, depending on geography of the installation location, and may include an adapter for other wall outlets, voltage levels, or current levels. The battery solution may be rechargeable, and may charge from the household power supply.

FIG. 4 is a representation of the positioning and functionality 400 of an interactive projection effect and entertainment system, according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, the installation components 300 may be positioned on the ceiling of a room, facing down. The installation components 300 may include the hardware components 100, which may include a microcomputer processor 110, a projector 120, an image-capturing device 130, and a light source 140. The light source 140 may include an integrated infrared (IR) light source and an integrated ambient light source, or an independent infrared (IR) light source 142 and an independent ambient light source 144 may be used.

The microcomputer processor 110 may generate the interactive projection component, and may cause the projector 120 to project an interactive scene 420 onto the floor of the room. The user 425 may move within the interactive scene 420, and the image-capturing device 130 may capture the user's movements within the camera field of view 430. The interactive software may receive input camera frames from within the camera field of view 430 and process the input camera frames to generate motion data. The motion data may be used by the interactive software to allow the user to interact with various education or gaming interactive environments.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are side and front views of a standalone interactive projection effect and entertainment system 500, according to an embodiment. The standalone system 500 may be used as an alternative to or in addition to a standard ceiling light fixture that includes installation components 300. The standalone system 500 may include a housing 510 that may include one or more of the hardware components 100. An aperture 520 may be included, and the aperture 520 may allow one or more internal projectors or cameras to project or capture an image. For example, an internal projector may project an interactive scene or a distortion-compensating calibration pattern. The standalone system 500 may be provided without an internal projector, and the aperture 520 may be used by an internal camera to capture image or video. For example, a standalone system 500 may be provided without an internal projector, and may be configured to provide a video output to various external projectors, such as may already be present in a home theatre room of a house or a conference room of a business. The aperture 520 may provide one or more optics distortions or filters. For example, the aperture 520 may include a passive or active IR filter, and the IR filter may reduce light below or above the infrared spectrum. The housing 510 may include one or more additional light emitters or detectors 525, such as an IR emitter/detector. The housing 510 may include one or more buttons, switches, LCD touchscreens, or other hardware controls, such as a power switch 530. To simplify interaction and control of the standalone system 500, the housing 510 may include hardware controls corresponding to buttons on the dedicated or software remote. A power supply 535 may be attached to housing 510, or the device may receive power from an internal, rechargeable power source. The housing 510 may also include one or more connectors, such as audiovisual connectors for external displays or projectors, wired network connectors, USB ports, memory card ports, or other peripheral connectors. The housing 510 may also include one or more internal wireless adapters, such as for Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, near-field communication (NFC), IR communication, or other wireless communication.

The standalone system 500 may include a base 540. The base 540 may be mounted on a floor, wall, ceiling, table, or other surface, or the housing 510 may be mounted directly on a surface. The house 510 or base 540 may be secured to a surface using screws, suction cups, or other means. The housing 510 may be attached to the base 540 using screws or other fasteners, or the housing 510 may be removably attached to the base 540 using a quick-attach device or other removable connection. In other embodiments, the base 540 may be weighted to allow the projection effect and entertainment system 500 to be simply set on a horizontal surface, such as a table.

The base 540 may allow the housing 510 to be reoriented vertically or horizontally, and the connection between the base 540 and the housing 510 may hold the housing in a fixed orientation. Orientation of the housing 510 with respect to the base 540, in some embodiments, may be performed manually. However, in other embodiments, orientation of the housing 510 with respect to the base 540 is adjustable by a powered motor. The powered motor may be activated in response to input received via a remote control or via the motion detection algorithms of the projection effect and entertainment system 500.

One or more internal sensors may be used to detect orientation or movement of the housing 510, such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, or other sensor. Detection of orientation may be used for calibration, where calibration allows for correction of a distortion caused by projecting entertainment content onto a surface that is not perpendicular to the aperture 520. For example, projecting an image from the floor onto a wall may cause a trapezoidal distortion (e.g., keystone distortion), where the top of the image appears wider than the bottom of the image. The standalone system 500 may use the detected orientation to determine the surface onto which the entertainment content is being projected and what amount of distortion correction to apply. For example, if the standalone system 500 detects an orientation that corresponds to pointing the aperture 520 forty-five degrees above the ground, the standalone system 500 may determine that the entertainment content is being projected onto a nearby wall, and may correct for distortion corresponding to a forty-five degree angle.

Additional distortions may be detected and corrected using various means. For example, a horizontal trapezoidal distortion may occur if the aperture 520 is pointing to the left or right of a line perpendicular with a projection surface. This horizontal distortion may be detected using a combination of orientation and rotation sensors in the housing 510 and in the base 540, and the standalone system 500 may calculate the horizontal distortion as a function of the difference between the orientation of the housing 510 and the base 540. The distortion of the projection may also be corrected using an active feedback loop between the camera and the projection. For example, a camera may capture an image of the projection, compare the captured image to the original entertainment content source, and the standalone system 500 may detect and correct for any distortion. As another example, an IR emitter may project a distortion-detection pattern (e.g., points, lines, grids, or other patterns) onto the projection surface, and an IR camera may capture an image of the projected pattern, compare the captured image to the original pattern, and the standalone system 500 may detect and correct any distortion. The use of an IR pattern may improve detection of location and motion of physical objects, while reducing false detection of virtual objects. For example, an image of a projected grid pattern on a flat surface may appear as a grid, however an image of a projected grid pattern may show distortions of the grid corresponding to the user position and motion. Similarly, an image of a projected grid pattern may not be affected by a graphical image projected using non-IR light, allowing the captured IR image to reflect user motion without a false detection of motion within the projected graphical image.

The distortion mitigation techniques may be applied to edge blending between two or more standalone systems 500. If two or more standalone systems 500 are used to project a contiguous image, the distortion mitigation techniques may be used to detect and correct distortion and overlap for the projection from each standalone system 500. For example, the entertainment content source and an IR distortion-detection pattern may be split vertically and projected by separate standalone systems 500, and an IR camera may be used to detect and correct for any distortion or overlap between the two projections. Using this edge-blending technique, standalone systems 500 may be configured in a three-by-one widescreen format, a two-by-two enlarged screen format, or any other combination of multiple standalone systems 500. Two or more standalone systems 500 may split a projection and perform this edge-blending technique by communicating between or among the standalone systems 500, such as by using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, near-field communication (NFC), IR communication, or other communication methods. The splitting and edge blending may also occur at the source of the entertainment content. For example, two standalone systems 500 streaming video content may provide distortion-detection pattern data to the video streaming provider via the internet, and the video streaming provider may process the data and provide separate video streams that are corrected for distortion and edge-blending.

FIGS. 6A-6D are various views of a standalone interactive entertainment system 600, according to an embodiment. The interactive entertainment system 600 may be used as an alternative to or in addition to a standard ceiling light fixture that includes installation components 300, or may be used as an alternative to or in addition to the standalone interactive projection effect and entertainment system 500.

FIG. 6A shows a front view of the interactive entertainment system 600, FIG. 6B shows a view from the right side, FIG. 6C shows a view from the top, and FIG. 6D shows a perspective view. The interactive entertainment system 600 may include a housing 610 that may include one or more of the hardware components 100. An aperture 620 may be included, and the aperture 620 may allow one or more internal cameras to capture an image or video. The interactive entertainment system 600 may not include an internal projector, and may be configured to provide a video output to various external projectors, such as may already be present in a home theatre room of a house or a conference room of a business. The aperture 620 may provide one or more optics distortions or filters. For example, the aperture 620 may include a passive or active IR filter, and the IR filter may reduce light below or above the infrared spectrum. The housing 610 may include one or more additional light emitters or detectors 625, such as an IR emitter/detector. The housing 610 may also include one or more connectors, such as audiovisual connectors for external displays or projectors, wired network connectors, USB ports, memory card ports, or other peripheral connectors. The housing 610 may also include one or more internal wireless adapters, such as for Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, near-field communication (NFC), IR communication, or other wireless communication.

The interactive entertainment system 600 may include a base 640. The base 640 may be mounted on a floor, wall, ceiling, table, or other surface, or the housing 610 may be mounted directly on a surface. The house 610 or base 640 may be secured to a surface using screws, suction cups, or other means. The base 640 may be weighted to allow the projection effect and entertainment system 600 to be simply set on a horizontal surface, such as a table.

The base 640 may allow the housing 610 to be reoriented vertically or horizontally, and the connection between the base 640 and the housing 610 may hold the housing in a fixed orientation. Orientation of the housing 610 with respect to the base 640, in some embodiments, may be performed manually. However, in other embodiments, orientation of the housing 610 with respect to the base 640 is adjustable by a powered motor. The powered motor may be activated in response to input received via a remote control or via the motion detection algorithms of the projection effect and entertainment system 600. As described above with respect to the standalone interactive projection effect and entertainment system 500, one or more internal sensors may be used to detect orientation or movement of the housing 610, and detection of orientation may be used for calibration, where calibration allows for correction of a distortion caused by projecting entertainment content onto a surface that is not perpendicular to the aperture 620.

FIG. 7 is a logical architecture diagram of a computing environment 700 according to an embodiment. The computing environment 700 is an example of a networked environment within which content generation for motion interactive video projection systems may be simply created based on templates through one or more of dedicated websites, mobile device apps, and thick or thin client applications.

The computing environment includes various client-computing devices. The client computing devices may include a plurality of each of personal computers 702, smartphones 704, tablets 706, a motion interactive video projection system 716, and other computing devices. Each of these client-computing devices is typically connected to a network 708, such as the Internet. Also connected to the network 708 are computing assets of an entity hosting a system 710 allowing for content generation for motion interactive video projection systems. Such a system 710 generally is a web stack including an application server on which software executes to request and receive user input via the network 708, generate previews of motion interactive content, and to publish motion interactive content. The motion interactive content may be published to a motion interactive video projection system 716, a client device or removable storage device connected thereto, a hosted cloud service 714, network storage such as a database 712, and the like.

In a typical embodiment, a user of a client-computing device provides input with regard to content to be generated or customized for use on a motion interactive video projection system 716. The input may identify a preexisting interactive graphical rendering template (GRT) from which to base the content to be generated or customized. A GRT is a template that generally includes media containers that are to be populated with user provided media elements, such as 2D or 3D images and animations, videos, avatars, sprites, and the like. The media elements may also include music and other renderable audio files and data. Media elements may be uploaded to the system 710 for storage in the database 712 directly from the client-computing device. In some embodiments, media elements may be provided as a reference to a cloud or other network resource, such as an image posted to a social media platform (e.g., Facebook®, Flickr®, Twitter®, etc.), a music subscription or hosting service, a video subscription or hosting service, and the like.

FIG. 8 is a block flow diagram of a method 800 of providing an interactive display, according to an example embodiment. The method 800 is an example of a method that may be performed in whole or in part on a system 710 as illustrated and described with regard to FIG. 7 to update a graphical image in response to a motion event. The method 800 includes emitting 802 an infrared light, capturing 804 a first and second infrared image, and comparing 806 the first and second infrared image to identify motion. By using an infrared light, the image captured may reduce the amount of captured extraneous motion. For example, if a person is interacting with a projection that includes several moving objects, projecting an infrared light may enable the method to identify the person's movements and ignore the moving objects within the projection. Using the identified motion, the method 800 may update 808 a graphical image in response to the motion event. For example, a game may include a soccer ball, and moving a foot toward the ball may result in the graphical image being updated to depict the ball being kicked. The updated graphical image may then be projected 810 onto the surface.

The method 800 may include detecting 812 a distortion of the projected image. For example, projecting an image from the floor onto a wall may cause a trapezoidal distortion (e.g., keystone distortion), where the top of the image appears wider than the bottom of the image. Detecting 812 the distortion may include using an image capture device to capture an image of the projected graphical image and comparing the captured image to the original graphical image. Detecting 812 the distortion may include using an IR emitter to project a distortion-detection pattern (e.g., points, lines, grids, or other patterns) onto the projection surface, and using an IR camera to capture an image of the projected pattern, and compare the captured image to the original pattern. Following detection 812 of the distortion, method 800 may correct 814 the distortion of the projection of the updated graphical image. For example, correction 814 of the distortion may include intentionally distorting the source graphical image so that the graphical image projected on the surface appears undistorted.

FIG. 9 is a block flow diagram of a method 900 of dividing and blending a graphical image into multiple projected graphical images, according to an example embodiment. The method 900 is an example of a method that may be performed in whole or in part on a system 710 as illustrated and described with regard to FIG. 7 to update a graphical image in response to a motion event. The method 900 includes dividing 902 the updated graphical image into at least two image divisions and projecting 904 the image divisions onto the surface using at least two projectors. For example, the graphical image may be divided into a left image and a right image, and two projectors arranged side-by-side may project the left and right images onto the surface. Various devices may be used to project the image divisions, such as a desktop projector, a handheld projector, or a projector built into a cellular telephone.

Method 900 may detect and correct for overlap of the projected image divisions using an edge-detection IR pattern. To allow detection of overlap, method 900 may project 906 an edge-detection pattern on the projection surface. For example, a first and second projector may project an IR pattern of horizontal lines and vertical lines, respectively. Method 900 may capture 908 a pattern image of the edge-detection pattern projected onto the surface and compare 910 the pattern image to the edge-detection pattern. For example, using the horizontal and vertical IR lines, the graphical images may be resized so that the two projected image divisions appear to form a single, continuous image.

Method 900 may also detect and correct for overlap of the projected image divisions without using an IR pattern. To allow detection of overlap, method 900 may capture 912 a composite image of the plurality of image divisions projected onto the surface. Method 900 may compare 914 the composite image to the source graphical image and correct 916 at least one of projected image divisions to remove the overlap. For example, if a left and a right projected image division overlap in the middle, comparison 914 will reveal that the resulting projection appears different from the source graphical image, and method 900 can resize or distort at least one of projected image divisions to remove the overlap.

Method 900 may also include communicating 918 the edge-blended images between at least two projectors. For example, a source device may communicate wirelessly to two projectors, or a first projector may communicate a corrected image to a second projector, such as by using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, near-field communication (NFC), IR communication, or other communication methods. The splitting and edge blending may also occur at the source of the entertainment content. For example, a projector with built-in streaming video capability may provide distortion-detection pattern data to the video streaming provider via the internet, and the video streaming provider may process the data and provide separate video streams that are corrected for distortion and edge-blending. Using either edge-blending technique, projections may be configured in a three-by-one widescreen format, a two-by-two enlarged screen format, or any other combination of multiple image divisions.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a computing device, according to an example embodiment. In one embodiment, multiple such computer systems are utilized in a distributed network to implement multiple components in a transaction-based environment. An object-oriented, service-oriented, or other architecture may be used to implement such functions and communicate between the multiple systems and components. In some embodiments, the computing device of FIG. 10 is an example of a client device that may invoke the method 800 of FIG. 8 or method 900 of FIG. 9 over a network. In other embodiments, the computing device is an example of a computing device that may be included in or connected to a motion interactive video projection system, as described elsewhere herein. In some embodiments, the computing device of FIG. 10 is an example of one or more of the personal computer 702, smartphone 704, tablet 706, and the various servers within the computing environment 700 of FIG. 7.

One example computing device in the form of a computer 1010, may include a processing unit 1002, memory 1004, removable storage 1012, and non-removable storage 1014. Although the example computing device is illustrated and described as computer 1010, the computing device may be in different forms in different embodiments. For example, the computing device may instead be a smartphone, a tablet, or other computing device including the same or similar elements as illustrated and described with regard to FIG. 10. Further, although the various data storage elements are illustrated as part of the computer 1010, the storage may include cloud-based storage accessible via a network, such as the Internet.

Returning to the computer 1010, memory 1004 may include volatile memory 1006 and non-volatile memory 1008. Computer 1010 may include—or have access to a computing environment that includes a variety of computer-readable media, such as volatile memory 1006 and non-volatile memory 1008, removable storage 1012 and non-removable storage 1014. Computer storage includes random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) & electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technologies, compact disc read-only memory (CD ROM), Digital Versatile Disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of storing computer-readable instructions. Computer 1010 may include or have access to a computing environment that includes input 1016, output 1018, and a communication connection 1020. The input 1016 may include one or more of a touchscreen, touchpad, mouse, keyboard, camera, and other input devices. The computer may operate in a networked environment using a communication connection 1020 to connect to one or more remote computers, such as database servers, web servers, and other computing device. An example remote computer may include a personal computer (PC), server, router, network PC, a peer device or other common network node, or the like. The communication connection 1020 may be a network interface device such as one or both of an Ethernet card and a wireless card or circuit that may be connected to a network. The network may include one or more of a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), the Internet, and other networks.

Computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium are executable by the processing unit 1002 of the computer 1010. A hard drive (magnetic disk or solid state), CD-ROM, and RAM are some examples of articles including a non-transitory computer-readable medium. For example, various computer programs 1025 or apps, such as one or more applications and modules implementing one or more of the methods illustrated and described herein or an app or application that executes on a mobile device or is accessible via a web browser, may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

Since various modifications can be made to the various embodiments as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An interactive video system comprising: an infrared light source configured to project infrared light onto a user environment area; an infrared image capture device configured to capture a plurality of infrared video images from the user environment area; and a processor configured to detect a user motion event within the plurality of infrared video images and update a graphical image in response to the motion event.
 2. The interactive video system of claim 1, further including an ambient light source.
 3. The interactive video system of claim 1, further including a projector configured to project the graphical image on a surface.
 4. The interactive video system of claim 1, further including: a housing, wherein the infrared light source, infrared image capture device, and processor are contained within the housing; and an adjustable base connected to the housing configured to support the housing in a selected orientation.
 5. The interactive video system of claim 4, further including an orientation sensor configured to provide housing orientation information to the processor, wherein the processor corrects for distortions in the image based at least in part on the housing orientation information.
 6. The interactive video system of claim 4, further including a motor configured to adjust the selected orientation of the housing.
 7. The interactive video system of claim 1, further including an internal wireless device configured to provide a communication path between the processor and an external device.
 8. The interactive video system of claim 1, further including an infrared lens filter configured to reduce non-infrared light that reaches the infrared image capture.
 9. A method of providing an interactive display, the method comprising: emitting an infrared light; capturing a first infrared image and a second infrared image, the first infrared image being different from the second infrared image; comparing the first infrared image to the second infrared image, the comparison indicating that a motion event has occurred; and updating a graphical image in response to the motion event.
 10. The method of claim 9, further including projecting the updated graphical image onto a surface from a projector.
 11. The method of claim 10, further including: receiving an ambient light selection input; and switching between projecting the updated graphical image onto a surface and providing ambient light from an ambient light source.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein switching between projecting the updated graphical image and providing ambient light includes changing the orientation of the projector and the ambient light source.
 13. The method of claim 10, further including: detecting a distortion of the projected updated graphical image; and correcting the distortion of the projection of the updated graphical image.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein projecting the updated graphical image onto a surface includes: dividing the updated graphical image into a plurality of image divisions; and projecting the plurality of image divisions from a plurality of projectors onto the surface.
 15. The method of claim 13, further including: detecting an overlap of the plurality of image divisions; and correcting at least one of the plurality of image divisions to remove the overlap of the plurality of image divisions to generate a plurality of edge-blended images.
 16. The method of claim 14, further including communicating the edge-blended images between at least two of the plurality of projectors.
 17. The method of claim 13 wherein detecting the overlap of the plurality of image divisions includes: capturing a composite image of the plurality of image divisions projected onto the surface; and comparing the composite image to the updated graphical image.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein detecting the overlap of the plurality of image divisions includes: projecting an edge-detection pattern onto the surface; capturing a pattern image of the edge-detection pattern projected onto the surface; and comparing the pattern image to the edge-detection pattern.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein projecting an edge-detection pattern onto the surface includes projecting a pattern from an infrared projector.
 20. An interactive video system comprising: an infrared light source configured to project infrared light onto a user environment area; an infrared image capture device configured to capture a plurality of infrared video images from the user environment area; an infrared lens filter configured to reduce non-infrared light that reaches the infrared image capture device; a processor configured to detect a user motion event within the plurality of infrared video images and update a graphical image in response to the motion event; a projector configured to project the graphical image on a surface; a housing, wherein the infrared light source, infrared image capture device, and processor are contained within the housing; an adjustable base connected to the housing configured to support the housing in a selected housing orientation; an orientation sensor within the housing configured to provide housing orientation information to the processor, wherein the processor corrects for distortions in the image based at least in part on the housing orientation information; a motor configured to adjust the selected orientation of the housing; and an internal wireless device configured to provide a communication path between the processor and an external device. 